I think exercise and eating healthy are good in their own right. I think ‘dieting’ takes away from the value of exercising and eating a healthy diet. I hear that too many people stop exercising and eat healthy when the weight stops coming off. It shouldn’t be about the weight, but about feeling good. I think because of this that dieters should be part of FA. They need to know that doing the right things for their health may not always lead to weight loss but it still leads to feeling better. It feels good to eat when I’m hungry. It feels good to go to sleep on an empty stomach sometimes. It feels good to eat food that will give me energy.

I’ve never cared for the taste of overly sweet food. I rather eat an apple than a piece of cheesecake. The apple tastes better and is more satisfying. I’ve recall the last time I had cheesecake I had this feeling like it was tasteless and with each bite I hope that it would have flavor. My memory told me that cheesecake had flavor and my tastebuds didn’t agree. I kept eating it hoping that there would be flavor and there never was. I’ve had the same type of feeling why eating chocolate and other overly sweet foods. Now, I go into the pastry shop, but I look and not buy. It’s cheaper and more satisfying.

Just because I’m overweight doesn’t mean that I’m on a diet if I don’t want to eat something sweet when it’s offered.

Baking (particularly pies, which I so utterly rock at)
Making lace (it’s a zen thing which results in pretty at the end; what’s not to love?)
Cuddling my cat
Cuddling my husband
Watching lots of sci fi shows
Taking a walk
Going to my favorite neighborhood bistro and joining in on random discussions (it’s that sort of place, and I love it!)
Bubble baths
Rubber duckies
Singing
Cooking a special meal from scratch
Reading a good book (Anthony Trollope is a particular favorite)
Having a really goooooood cup of coffee
Putting on a kickass outfit and heading for the theater
Daydreaming about my perfect kitchen.

Nope, losing weight is not on that list. I did lose a lot of weight over the course of a couple years in the wake of getting past a streak of bingeing for several years. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy seeing those pounds go away or buying new clothes in smaller sizes. On the other hand, the weight loss was an effect of getting past an unhealthy behavior and becoming a happier person. After about the first dress size, I stopped worrying about it so much and decided whatever size I ended up at was fine with me. Yes, that included the concept that I’d be all right if I wound up bigger than ever and able to enjoy my life.

I did happen to lose a lot of weight. I do like me better now than I did when I started. The thing is, I don’t delude myself into thinking that the weight loss is the direct cause of me feeling better about who I am. They just happened to come along at the same time. Correlation is not causality, after all. If I couldn’t love my fat self, I’d still have a long way to go, because I’m sure as hell not thin. But the fact is I do like me. I like me in large part because I do nice things for me and don’t stress about the weight. And I treat myself nicely because I like me.

It’s a damn good feeling.

Thank you for that.

I’ll have to grind some of your points into my head until I know them by heart so that I finally have a few smart responses at hand, the next time my boyfriend gives me the “but but but I feel uncomfortable in my body!” card.

So why is it such a big deal that the FA crew (yo) aren’t behind PQ? Why does she need to be validated by a movement that, by its very definition, is not conducive to weight-loss dieting? “I refused to accept my fat and the fat acceptance people seemed to have some kind of problem with me!” Well, yes. What exactly is confusing you?

But hey, being anything but an echo chamber is apparently rude, whiny, shrieky and hysterical (though that was retracted), and whatever else I can’t remember. Don’t have thoughts, folks. It’s bad for everyone.

Nice to go read you turned a whole post into what I see as a very intentional misreading of pretty much everything I was saying. Plus I didn’t think we were “arguing,” but, whatever. Trying to convey one’s feelings to someone who refuses to listen or hear because their agenda is screaming too loudly in their heads is futile, I guess. Good bye.

:-/